Hearth is hot. The embodied listening in this quartet of pan-European improvisers is palpable. This is engaging improv, in which clear intention drives artful exploration. Abstract instrumental language revolves with choreographed clarity around a conceptual centre. Melt, which was recorded live at the Portalegre Jazz Festival in 2020, is produced by band members Susana Santos Silva (trumpet), Mette Rasmussen (alto sax), Ada Rave (tenor sax, clarinet) and Kaja Draksler (piano), who met by chance in 2016 and formed Hearth with a shared vision of humanity and the planet: heart and earth. This live set is as ephemeral and monumental as the icecaps and oceans for which it advocates. Fading Icebergs, which sounds the alarm in dripping cycles, is followed by the rippling babble of Tidal Phase. The clambering At Daybreak introduces spoken word amidst bells and whistles. In Oscillation toys with the beating of close sustains. The metallic Diving Bells goes long and blows hard with screeching steely breaths and rattling chains; a slow build of chattering complaints seems to complete the piece before it turns sharply into spacious confrontation. Rivulets run outward from the piano in the liquid undulations of Turbulent Flow: a melody peaks before sinking into the depths, leaving only the sound of wind. Powered by vivid imagination and clear delivery, Hearth rides a strong current in Melt.